Free Web NovelChapter 184: Chapter 174: What Exactly Is Your Relationship with Elliot Sheridan (2)
Dylan Heston and Ethan Fletcher exchanged a look. ’Looks like we’re in for a show,’ they thought.
When Liam Sheffield saw Georgia Thorne, he called out, "Miss Georgia, you’re here!"
He casually discarded a tile, only to hear Elliot Sheridan say, "Pong. I win."
"Bro, how come you keep winning my money tonight? I’ve almost lost it all!" Liam Sheffield complained.
Elliot Sheridan pushed his tiles down and asked casually, "Do you know how to play mahjong?"
Liam Sheffield, thinking the question was for him, paid up his losses. "Of course I do!"
But little did he know, Elliot’s gaze had shifted to Georgia Thorne, who was standing to the side.
Georgia Thorne didn’t register it at first. Only when her eyes met the man’s did she belatedly answer, "No, I don’t."
The words had barely left her mouth when her wrist was seized. Her knees buckled, and she tumbled right into the man’s lap.
Georgia Thorne struggled frantically to get up, but Elliot’s arm wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. "I’ll teach you how to play."
"No, thank you!" Georgia Thorne refused, but her small, soft hand was captured by a larger one.
"If you came looking for me, you play by my rules." The deep, magnetic male voice resonated next to her ear, and Georgia Thorne instantly became as docile as a lamb.
She let him guide her hand, feeling the dry, comfortable warmth of his palm.
’He knows,’ she thought. ’He’s always known!’
Ethan Fletcher gave a roguish smile as he drew a tile and glanced at it.
’Just a few minutes ago, he was giving her the cold shoulder,’ he mused. ’Now he can’t wait to get his hands on her.’
Georgia Thorne was sitting suggestively on Elliot Sheridan’s lap, and even someone as dense as Liam Sheffield could tell something was unusual.
"Bro, how can you take advantage of Miss Georgia like that!"
Liam Sheffield was a little disgruntled. ’Sure, my brother is handsome, but I’m not bad-looking either.’
’Why do all the women choose him!’
Ethan Fletcher shoved him. "Enough with the nonsense. It’s your turn!"
Liam Sheffield glared angrily at Ethan Fletcher, drawing a tile and discarding it. ’I’m not talking nonsense,’ he grumbled to himself.
His gaze landed on Georgia Thorne’s face again. ’No doubt about it, Miss Georgia must be hopelessly captivated by my brother’s good looks, too.’
Georgia Thorne’s face flushed at Liam Sheffield’s "taking advantage of" comment, and she shifted nervously.
A single chair only had so much space. Georgia squirmed, sliding off the man’s lap and onto the seat beside him.
She sat there ramrod straight, her body stiff.
A few seconds later, a scorching-hot chest pressed against her back like a solid wall. The man’s arms circled her waist, pulling her completely into his embrace.
Elliot Sheridan had been smoking. As he leaned in, the faint scent of mint was overpowered by the heavy smell of tobacco, an aroma characteristic of a mature man.
His large hand guided hers to draw a tile. He whispered intimately in her ear, like a lover, "Which one should we play?"
Georgia Thorne truly had never played mahjong. Staring at the jumble of tiles, she randomly discarded one.
She heard Dylan Heston call out "Pong," pushing forward two Red Dragon tiles before discarding another.
Just like when he had taught Georgia Thorne to ski in Akashima, Elliot Sheridan was now patiently teaching her how to play mahjong.
After several rounds, Georgia Thorne was on a losing streak, managing to lose almost all the money Elliot had just won.
After playing for a while, she began to grasp the rules and knew which tiles to play without Elliot’s guidance.
And yet, Georgia Thorne kept losing—so consistently that the other players started to feel bad for her.
Georgia didn’t seem to mind, but Elliot, sitting behind her, kept frowning, his icy gaze sweeping back and forth across the other three players.
Ethan Fletcher was speechless. ’I can’t believe her skills are this bad,’ he thought. ’The two of us are already throwing the game so obviously.’
After Georgia Thorne lost yet another hand, Dylan Heston pushed his tiles down. "I’ve got something to take care of!"
He stood up, wrapped an arm around Nancy Hughes, and started to leave. He glanced at Georgia Thorne before his gaze settled on Elliot Sheridan. "You two have fun."
Ethan Fletcher also scrambled to his feet, eager to escape. "Oh, uh, I just remembered I have something to do, too. I’ll be heading out!"
Liam Sheffield looked at them in confusion and muttered, "Why does everyone suddenly have plans? Does that mean it’s just me and Bro left?"
"What do you mean you don’t? You forgot you’re coming with me!" Ethan Fletcher rapped Liam Sheffield on the head, grabbed him by the collar, and bolted.
"Where are we going? How come I don’t know anything about it!" Liam Sheffield clutched his head, completely bewildered.
’He still wanted to ask Miss Georgia what exactly she liked so much about his brother!’
In an instant, the once-lively private room was left with only Georgia Thorne and Elliot Sheridan.
The man finally let go of her hand, and Georgia Thorne scrambled to her feet.
She hadn’t forgotten why she’d come. She was here to confront him.
CLICK. A small flame flickered to life as his slender fingers brought a cigarette to his lips and lit it.
He took a drag, exhaling a thin stream of white smoke.
Georgia Thorne watched him through the swirling smoke, his handsome face appearing and disappearing in the haze.
"What happened to Zane Lennox’s company... was that you?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yes."
"And back then, when I was set up and sent to Mason Morgan’s bed... were you the one pulling the strings?"
"Yes."
Georgia Thorne had expected Elliot Sheridan to deny it, or at least remain silent. She never imagined he would admit to it so directly and without hesitation.
Her mind was a jumbled mess, like a tangled ball of yarn; she couldn’t sort out a single coherent thought.
Even now, after hearing him admit it with his own mouth, Georgia Thorne couldn’t believe he had done it.
Even after he had been the one to break up with her, Georgia had never thought of Elliot Sheridan as a bad person.
In her heart, he had always been a good person.
He was the one who protected her, who sheltered her and created a safe world just for her.
For the past three years, Georgia Thorne had always considered herself a lucky person.
"You’re terrifying," Georgia Thorne murmured, shaking her head as she looked at him.
Now, all she felt was terror. She had never met anyone so calculating.
"So, you’re afraid of me now?"
Elliot Sheridan chuckled softly, his cold eyes narrowing with displeasure as he looked at her. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
He shot to his feet, towering over her as he closed the distance one step at a time.
For every step he advanced, Georgia Thorne retreated, until he had her backed into a corner.
His large frame trapped her petite form against his chest. He reached out and gripped her slender chin.
Georgia Thorne gritted her teeth. "Don’t touch me!"
"Let go of me, you psycho!"
"You were the one who broke up with me! Why are you bothering me now?!"
"I regret it."
In response to Georgia Thorne’s hysterical screaming, the words floated calmly from Elliot Sheridan.
For a moment, Georgia Thorne even forgot to cry. She raised her tear-filled eyes, her vision blurring as she gazed at his handsome face.
"Georgia, I regret it. I never should have broken up with you."
It felt as if Georgia Thorne’s head had been struck by a hammer. More than the dull ache, she felt a profound sense of bewilderment.
"No... we can’t."
’How could they do this!’
Georgia Thorne was clearly resisting him. She frantically averted her gaze, not daring to look up at Elliot Sheridan.
Elliot Sheridan didn’t force her. Instead, he turned, picked up his suit jacket from the sofa, and draped it over Georgia Thorne’s shoulders.
After wrapping her snugly in the jacket, he swept her up into his arms.
Georgia Thorne shifted uncomfortably, which immediately drew a warning from above. "If you don’t want me to strip you naked right here, then stay still and don’t move!"
No matter how furious Georgia Thorne felt, she couldn’t seem to muster any of that anger when faced with Elliot Sheridan.
It was just as Elliot had once described her: a toothless kitten.
The lobby downstairs was bustling with people coming and going.
Georgia Thorne hid in Elliot Sheridan’s arms until he placed her in the car.
Owen Sawyer glanced at Georgia Thorne in the rearview mirror before driving on in silence.
The ride was silent. Georgia Thorne’s body remained rigid in Elliot Sheridan’s lap all the way to her apartment building.
Elliot Sheridan carried her upstairs. Nancy Hughes wasn’t back yet.
"Where’s the key?" Elliot Sheridan asked.
Georgia Thorne’s key was in her purse, which she’d left behind in the private room.
However, to prepare for such situations, they usually kept a spare key under the flowerpot by the door.
"Put me down first," Georgia Thorne said softly, her legs dangling.
Elliot Sheridan didn’t let go. Instead, he held her tighter. "We’ll go to my place."
As he spoke, he turned to leave, still carrying Georgia Thorne.
Georgia Thorne panicked. "The key is under the flowerpot!"
Elliot Sheridan leaned down, retrieved the key from under the flowerpot, and deftly unlocked the door.
Carrying Georgia Thorne, Elliot Sheridan walked straight into her bedroom.
The lights were off. In the darkness of the room, two fluorescent green dots suddenly glowed, exceptionally bright.
"MEOW." Elliot Sheridan flicked on the light, revealing a snow-white cat nestled on the bed, staring at him warily.
Elliot Sheridan placed Georgia Thorne on the bed. Blue instantly shot up, not backing down an inch. It arched its back and meowed incessantly at Elliot.
Elliot remembered this cat. It was the one Justin Sullivan had given Georgia Thorne to try and win her over.
Georgia Thorne hastily burrowed under the covers, and Blue immediately moved to stand protectively in front of her.
Its tail stood straight up, fur bristling, and its meows grew louder and more insistent.
Clearly, Blue had decided Elliot Sheridan was an intruder.
The moment Elliot Sheridan took a step toward Georgia Thorne, Blue cried out even more fiercely and extended its claws.
Georgia Thorne sat up, clutching the blanket, and pulled Blue into her arms. She stroked its white fur soothingly. "Blue, stop it. He’s not a bad person."
In Georgia Thorne’s arms, Blue became docile, its fur settling back down. But its wide, copper-bell eyes remained fixed hostilely on Elliot Sheridan.
Cats are sensitive creatures; they are the first to sense when something is amiss.
Unable to get any closer to Georgia Thorne, Elliot Sheridan straightened up. "I’ll give you three days to think it over. When you’ve made up your mind, meet me at my private apartment."
「In three days was the wedding of Zane Lennox and Georgia Thorne.」
Georgia Thorne stroked the cat in her lap, her eyes fixed on the muted television news.
"Zane, I want to write the wedding invitations myself."
"Okay," Zane Lennox replied over the phone. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are you worried?"
"Worried about what?" Georgia Thorne said with a laugh. "Zane, as long as you have no regrets, neither will I."
